Dr Mark Whitehead
Published: 8 February 2022
Studying beauty and charm with the LHCb experiment, with a focus on new physics searches by studying differences between matter and antimatter, and searching for new particles.
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Dr Mark Whitehead |
Mark.Whitehead@glasgow.ac.uk |
| School of Physics and Astronomy |
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| Fellowships |
UKRI Ernest Rutherford Fellow (ERF) and Lord Kelvin - Adam Smith Fellow (LKAS) ERF dates: 3/2/2022 – 2/2/2025 LKAS dates: 5/1/2022 – 2/2/2025 Glasgow dates: 5/1/2022 – 2/2/2025 |
| Area of Research |
Studying beauty and charm with the LHCb experiment, with a focus on new physics searches by studying differences between matter and antimatter, and searching for new particles. |
Why did you choose to pursue a fellowship in your research career?
The fellowships allow me an important degree of independence, I can define and pursue my own research programme to focus on the areas most interesting to me. Generally speaking fellowships are especially valuable if they provide enough funding to recruit a PhD student or Postdoctoral researcher. They are also prestigious, and together with the financial backing, will hopefully allow me to become a permanent member of staff in the department.
Why work at the University of Glasgow?
I transferred my ERF to Glasgow following the offer of the LKAS fellowship to join the LHCb group, which is already well aligned to my areas of interest without directly overlapping. I’m already looking into possible collaborations with Nuclear physics group to see what new measurements we might be able to extract from existing and future LHCb datasets.
How would you describe your research in 20 words or less?
Testing our understanding of the universe as precisely as possible.
What is your research highlight?
Over the years I have led several analyses that have provided the first observations of 4 new particles!
What do you look for in a collaboration?
As a member of the 1000+ strong LHCb collaboration most of my research is performed with colleagues in other institutes and countries. This provides many opportunities to share and exchange knowledge, and work closely with some very interesting and talented people.
How do you see your research impacting society?
Beyond answering big questions that capture the public imagination, data analysis by collaborations like LHCb does impact data science and other big data projects. The experiments and accelerators at CERN push forward technologies that are used in many areas, including particle beam therapy for cancer patients.
What next?
Firstly, I aim to complete the research programme that I set out in my research proposal. I will also look to get involved in the teaching/training of undergraduate and post graduate students, with a view to securing a lectureship position. I will also be on the lookout for future fellowships and funding options!
First published: 8 February 2022